Field
The disclosed technology relates to the semiconductor technology, and particularly to a method of planarizing a material layer formed on a substrate.
Description of the Related Technology
Planarization processes such as chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) are used in semiconductor processing or manufacturing to obtain relatively planar surfaces. However, it may be difficult to control surface flatness of a material layer to within a tolerance, of, for example, several nanometers, particularly if a portion of the material layer needs to be grounded. Planarizing a surface within a desired tolerance may be difficult with existing methods when the material layer covers features of nonuniform lengths, widths, and/or heights. There is a need for systems and methods to consistently planarize material layers formed on substrates within desired tolerances, even if the material layer covers nonuniform features.